AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- THREATS AND EXTORTION (Adds school superintendents, central office officials, school principals, and all other school employees, to the definition of a “public official” for purposes of the criminal prohibition against making threats to public officials.)

H7552

2026 -- H 7552
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LC004374
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- THREATS AND EXTORTION

Introduced By:
Representatives Noret, Cortvriend, Speakman, Messier, Casey, Phillips,
McNamara, McEntee, Shallcross Smith, and J. Brien

Date Introduced:
February 06, 2026

Referred To:
House Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 11-42-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-42 entitled "Threats and
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Extortion" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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11-42-4. Threats to public officials.
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(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully delivers or conveys, directly or indirectly, a verbal
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or written threat to take the life of, or to inflict bodily harm upon, a public official or a member of
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a public official’s immediate family because of the performance or nonperformance of some public
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duty; because of hostility of the person making the threat toward the status or position of the public
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official; or because of some other factor related to the official’s public existence, shall be guilty of
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a felony and shall be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years, or fined not more than five
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thousand dollars ($5,000), or both.
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(b) Whoever knowingly and willfully delivers or conveys, directly or indirectly, a verbal
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or written threat to take the life of, or to inflict bodily harm upon, any election official, or a member
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of their immediate family because of the performance or nonperformance of their public duty;
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because of hostility of the person making the threat toward the status or position of the election
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official; or because of some other factor related to the election official’s public existence, shall be
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guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be imprisoned for not more than one year, or fined not more than
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one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.
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(c) For purposes of this section:
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(1) “Public official” means a person who is elected or appointed to office in accordance

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with the constitution, a statute, or a city or town charter, or who is a judge, magistrate, assistant
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attorney general, special assistant attorney general, or law enforcement officer,
or in the case of
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schools, a school superintendent, central office official, school principal, and all other school
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employees
or in the case of an elective office, any person who has filed the required documents for
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nomination or election to that office or who is appointed by the governor to serve as the director or
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their designee of a state department that is established and the qualifications and duties of which
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are prescribed by statute to discharge a public duty for the state of Rhode Island;
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(2) “Election official” means a person who is appointed, hired, or assigned to any polling
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place and includes, but is not limited to, any poll worker, election worker, warden, moderator, clerk,
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and any member of the board of canvassers, in accordance with any statute, town charter, or
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ordinance and whose qualifications and duties are prescribed by statute, town charter, or ordinance;
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(3) “Immediate family” means a public official’s spouse, child, or children.
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(4) In the case of schools, a school superintendent, central office official, school principal,
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and all other school employees, a suspect shall be charged under this section only if the suspect is
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eighteen (18) years of age or older or is otherwise considered a legal adult.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- THREATS AND EXTORTION
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This act would add school superintendents, central office officials, school principals, and
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all other school employees, to the definition of a “public official” for purposes of the criminal
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prohibition against making threats to public officials. In the case of an alleged threat against these
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persons, a suspect would be charged only if the suspect is eighteen (18) years of age or older.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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